Determination of Catecholamines by Flow Injection Chemiluminescence Method Based on Their Restraining Effects on the Luminol–Potassium Chlorate System

Abstract

A rapid and precise continuous flow method was described for the determination of catecholamines based on the catecholamines great inhibitory effects on the chemiluminescence reaction of luminol–potassium chlorate in basic solutions. The optimum chemical conditions for the chemiluminescence reaction were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, four catecholamines: adrenaline, noradrenaline, isoprenaline, and dopamine were determined. The detection limits are 0.2 ng mL⁻¹ for adrenaline, 0.4 ng mL⁻¹ for noradrenaline, 0.7 ng mL⁻¹ for isoprenaline, and 0.4 ng mL⁻¹ for dopamine. The method was successfully applied to the determination of the four catecholamines in pharmaceutical injections. A brief discussion on the possible chemiluminescence reaction mechanism is presented.

Keywords:

• Flow injection
• Chemiluminescence
• Catecholamines
• Pharmaceutical injections

Acknowledgment

This work was financially supported by Xi'an Jiaotong University.